Della Robbia

Designed by Frederick H. Rhead about 1905 as part of the Rozane Wares, and named for a 15th century Florentine family of sculptors and ceramists famous for their enameled terracotta or faience, the Della Robbia group is the most complex and diverse collection of Roseville pieces, as well as the rarest. Borrowing freely from centuries of decorative themes—stretching from ancient Greece to the American Arts & Crafts movement—Della Robbia is the Holy Grail of Roseville collectors. A Della Robbia vase holds the world auction record for a piece of Roseville, selling for $38,850 in 1999.

Della Robbia teapot
excised with hearts, cups and saucers, and Japanese fans, in brown and celadon, small nicks to lid, 1″ clay burst to rim of pot and 1/2″ chip to base, Rozane Ware wafer, 9″ by 8″

$1,100-$1,200.

Della Robbia teapot
its lid with the inscription “Polly put the kettle on/we’ll all have tea/Sukie take it off again/it’s all boiled away″; the body with two excised panels, each depicting a woman in a kitchen holding a kettle, in beige and brown, restoration to lid, several nicks and cracks to base, restoration to spout, Rozane Ware wafer, 5 3/4″ by 7 1/2″.

$500-$600

Della Robbia vase
unusual example with deeply carved and cut-back floral design, whiplash stems and leaves in a multitoned green glaze, signed with wafer mark, artist signed, 14″ tall, two minor flakes.

$5,000-$6,000

Della Robbia vase
obelisk form with stylized trees set on a tan background, wafer mark, 10 1/2″ by 2 3/4″.

$4,500-$5,000

Della Robbia vase
cylindrical with stylized flowers on a brown background, 10″ by 5″, wafer mark and incised artist initials.

$5,000-$6,000

Della Robbia vase
twisted four-sided form with tiny lavender blossoms and sinuous dark green leaves, marked twice with an inscribed “E,″ 9 3/4″ tall.

$2,500-$2,800

Della Robbia oil lamp
shape D-6, in sage and cream with large stylized leaves and blossoms, Rozane Ware wafer, 11 1/8″ tall.

$2,000-$2,200

Della Robbia pillow vase
shape No. 5, with a large stylized blossom in sage and dark green, Rozane Ware wafer, 7 3/8″ tall.

$2,200-$2,400

Della Robbia spherical vase
shape No. 10, with five bands of daisies, Rozane Ware wafer, 8″ tall.

$2,800-$3,000